'Music is my way of praying’
At a young age, Ashish Ramakrishnan won popular Indian singing reality shows such as Antakshari and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and rose to fame since then. After performing at various music shows in India and abroad, he is all set to rock the stage at The Jam Lounge in Auckland on April 23. Indian Weekender finds out more about Ashish in a candid conversation.
Swati: Tell us about your early life, education and family.
Ashish Ramakrishnan: I spent most of my childhood in Bangalore, with a few years in Hyderabad. At a tender age of three, my father N. S. Ramakrishnan and mother Radhika Ramakrishnan realised I could sing. I am told I started humming before I started speaking.
With my parents’ encouragement, I started performing with different bands and orchestra groups and was a part of commercial concerts from the age of seven. After finishing my engineering from Bangalore in late 2006, I came to New Zealand in early 2007 to do my masters at Waikato.
Swati: How and when did your musical journey start?
AR: Coming from a typical middle-class South Indian family, study was always given importance and hence, I had to balance my time between shows and studies. I was able to manage it pretty well and ended up taking part in a few reality shows such as Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Zee Close-Up Antakshari and did several shows throughout the country and abroad, tour around with renowned artists, etc.
I am mostly self-taught, but I took formal lessons in Indian classical music only for a couple of months. I have participated in more than 80 to 100 competitions at national and international levels and have given more than 500 stage performances across the globe. I have performed with veterans of Bollywood music such as Kalyanji Anandji and Babla Kanchan and Indian classical stalwarts such as Ustad Fazal Qureshi and Ustad Dilshad Khan.
I was fortunate to perform for audiences that included celebrities such as Anu Malik, Roop Kumar Rathod, Sadhna Sargam, Sonu Nigam, Usha Mangeshkar, Jagjit Singh, Jatin-Lalit, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Hariharan and Anup Jalota.I have done several voice overs and sung for a few devotional albums. As a composer, I have given the background score for a few documentaries, composed the company anthem for Jubilant Biosys Ltd., India, and made several jingles for radio stations across India and New Zealand.
Swati: In which year did you win Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Antakshari shows?
AR: I won Antakshari in 1995, where I was part of this children’s special schedule. Antakshari was then hosted by Annu Kapoor and Renuka Sahane. I then went on to participate in Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 1997, hosted by Sonu Nigam. I was fortunate to be chosen the winner. I was called back in Sa re ga ma pa in 1999, where I was asked to be part of this mega final event where all winners of all schedules of Sa re ga ma pa, since its inception, were invited. This is when I met Shreya Ghoshal and had her as my co-contestant in the schedule. My presence in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa helped me immensely and got me a lot of high-profile shows, outdoor events and the opportunities to perform with renowned artists.
Swati: Has singing in New Zealand been different than that in India for you? If yes, how?
AR: While the scale of the shows is a little different from that in India, everything else remains the same. What’s most important is one’s love for music and the quality of music an artist brings to the audience. I have enjoyed singing here as much as I did back in India. I do believe there are some immensely talented artists in New Zealand too, and it has always been wonderful performing with them.
Swati: How are you preparing for the Jam Lounge and how is it going to be different than your other performances?
AR: To start with, The Jam Lounge has a wonderful concept. It’s along the lines of Coke Studio and MTV Unplugged where all songs being presented have a contemporary, urban touch. This concept is being implemented for the first time in Auckland. This also means that the singers and musicians have the flexibility to be more creative, putting out their best to the audience. The team has been putting a lot of hard work into the rehearsals and general preparation for the show. There’s also a lot of importance given to lighting and sound so that the audience can have the best presentation and value for their time and money.
Swati: What has been a proud moment for you so far?
AR: I, along with a few other talented Kiwi-Indian artists, have been instrumental in introducing Indian music in Music in the Park held in New Zealand every year. For the first time in the 20-year history of the event, Indian music was promoted when our band performed at this esteemed festival in 2011, which was a huge success. I also had an opportunity to perform with the popular Kiwi choir group Next Offramp—a fusion, which went on to be another great success. I believe that singing is my return gift to God for giving me this talent. Music for me is joy, fun, happiness, my way of praying. In short, music is my life.
At a young age, Ashish Ramakrishnan won popular Indian singing reality shows such as Antakshari and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and rose to fame since then. After performing at various music shows in India and abroad, he is all set to rock the stage at The Jam Lounge in Auckland on April 23. Indian Weekender ...
At a young age, Ashish Ramakrishnan won popular Indian singing reality shows such as Antakshari and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and rose to fame since then. After performing at various music shows in India and abroad, he is all set to rock the stage at The Jam Lounge in Auckland on April 23. Indian Weekender finds out more about Ashish in a candid conversation.
Swati: Tell us about your early life, education and family.
Ashish Ramakrishnan: I spent most of my childhood in Bangalore, with a few years in Hyderabad. At a tender age of three, my father N. S. Ramakrishnan and mother Radhika Ramakrishnan realised I could sing. I am told I started humming before I started speaking.
With my parents’ encouragement, I started performing with different bands and orchestra groups and was a part of commercial concerts from the age of seven. After finishing my engineering from Bangalore in late 2006, I came to New Zealand in early 2007 to do my masters at Waikato.
Swati: How and when did your musical journey start?
AR: Coming from a typical middle-class South Indian family, study was always given importance and hence, I had to balance my time between shows and studies. I was able to manage it pretty well and ended up taking part in a few reality shows such as Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Zee Close-Up Antakshari and did several shows throughout the country and abroad, tour around with renowned artists, etc.
I am mostly self-taught, but I took formal lessons in Indian classical music only for a couple of months. I have participated in more than 80 to 100 competitions at national and international levels and have given more than 500 stage performances across the globe. I have performed with veterans of Bollywood music such as Kalyanji Anandji and Babla Kanchan and Indian classical stalwarts such as Ustad Fazal Qureshi and Ustad Dilshad Khan.
I was fortunate to perform for audiences that included celebrities such as Anu Malik, Roop Kumar Rathod, Sadhna Sargam, Sonu Nigam, Usha Mangeshkar, Jagjit Singh, Jatin-Lalit, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Hariharan and Anup Jalota.I have done several voice overs and sung for a few devotional albums. As a composer, I have given the background score for a few documentaries, composed the company anthem for Jubilant Biosys Ltd., India, and made several jingles for radio stations across India and New Zealand.
Swati: In which year did you win Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Antakshari shows?
AR: I won Antakshari in 1995, where I was part of this children’s special schedule. Antakshari was then hosted by Annu Kapoor and Renuka Sahane. I then went on to participate in Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 1997, hosted by Sonu Nigam. I was fortunate to be chosen the winner. I was called back in Sa re ga ma pa in 1999, where I was asked to be part of this mega final event where all winners of all schedules of Sa re ga ma pa, since its inception, were invited. This is when I met Shreya Ghoshal and had her as my co-contestant in the schedule. My presence in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa helped me immensely and got me a lot of high-profile shows, outdoor events and the opportunities to perform with renowned artists.
Swati: Has singing in New Zealand been different than that in India for you? If yes, how?
AR: While the scale of the shows is a little different from that in India, everything else remains the same. What’s most important is one’s love for music and the quality of music an artist brings to the audience. I have enjoyed singing here as much as I did back in India. I do believe there are some immensely talented artists in New Zealand too, and it has always been wonderful performing with them.
Swati: How are you preparing for the Jam Lounge and how is it going to be different than your other performances?
AR: To start with, The Jam Lounge has a wonderful concept. It’s along the lines of Coke Studio and MTV Unplugged where all songs being presented have a contemporary, urban touch. This concept is being implemented for the first time in Auckland. This also means that the singers and musicians have the flexibility to be more creative, putting out their best to the audience. The team has been putting a lot of hard work into the rehearsals and general preparation for the show. There’s also a lot of importance given to lighting and sound so that the audience can have the best presentation and value for their time and money.
Swati: What has been a proud moment for you so far?
AR: I, along with a few other talented Kiwi-Indian artists, have been instrumental in introducing Indian music in Music in the Park held in New Zealand every year. For the first time in the 20-year history of the event, Indian music was promoted when our band performed at this esteemed festival in 2011, which was a huge success. I also had an opportunity to perform with the popular Kiwi choir group Next Offramp—a fusion, which went on to be another great success. I believe that singing is my return gift to God for giving me this talent. Music for me is joy, fun, happiness, my way of praying. In short, music is my life.
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